Eileen Hull

Crafty Sightings

7 Sep

Getting back in the loop after vacation has not been easy. Can’t the summer last a little longer? The weather has been in the 70’s the past few weeks… just perfect!

FYI, one of my husband’s dream has come true- we have a hot tub! We found a reconditioned one and have just the perfect spot for it. He has been busy getting the chemicals right, testing pH balance, regulating heat and jets, etc. Last weekend he built a little mini deck so we can get in and out without using a step ladder. I was impressed with how fast he put it together. Lucky we live right down the street from Home Depot- it was a three trip project 🙂

I was grocery shopping the other night and had to check out the Fall issue of Crafts ‘N Things. The page opened to a set of fall projects created by designer friend Melony Bradley. What a fun surprise to see her project made using my Sizzix Caddy die! Wouldn’t this be a cute teacher’s gift or a nice way to customize a birthday present? Melony always designs with recycled materials and I love that about her work. That brown paper flower is probably made with packing paper… just a guess.

Thanks to all who are working with my ScoreBoard dies- I love seeing what you do with them!

Baby Shower Flower Wishes

6 Sep

Here is a pic sent to me by Lorraine Fletcher, who took the Cutting Flower Garden class that Pam Keravuori and I taught in June at Angela’s Happy Stamper. What a fun group of ladies we had that night!

Lorraine said she “made this bucket of flowers for a friend’s baby shower (it was a girl), then attached leaves and had the ladies at the shower write Bible verses on to encourage the new mum.” Lorraine is Australian- I want her accent so bad!

Thanks for sharing what you create with my dies- it’s so much fun to see what you do with them!

Hanging Desk Organizer

5 Sep

Here’s another handy dandy desk organizer below which was originally shared in Bella Crafts Quarterly and created by Lisa Rojas. Have you seen this e-zine? Tons of projects, tips and techniques from the experts and features. Get your FREE issue here!

Lisa used my Sizzix Window Box die, Vine #2, and Clay Pot to create this pretty project. The colors are so soft and I love how she made pencils with flowers on the top- they are so easy to grab that way… and the post-it notes fit just right in the well of the windowbox… You could also tuck a photo behind the window.

Thanks for stopping by!

Felt and Burlap Birthday Cake

31 Aug

Linking up today with tatertotsandjello for one GIGANTIC link party! Go here if you want LOTS of inspiration.

I have always loved making paper cakes because it combines two of my favorite things- cake and crafts.

I used my Sizzix flower dies, wool felt and something I received yesterday- a box of matboard from my friend. Connie edited my first book, Matboard Magic, and now works at Crescent Cardboard. Lucky for me, Connie was cleaning out her office and asked if I would like a box of matboard samples. Um- yeah! It arrived a couple of days ago…

Guess which one is my favorite? Yes, right there in front- burlap matboard! Wow! I really wanted to try it out right away so I decided to make a burlap cake topped with yummy felt flowers.

First I designed and created the cake, then started die cutting a bunch of flowers using my Sizzix flower dies. I had so much fun! I like to cut out each flower in several colors and then start mixing and matching shapes from different flowers and combining them so each one is unique. Once they were cut and stitched together (OK some might be glued), I started arranging the flowers on top of the cake. I also used the Borders and Hydrangeas die as borders on the cake. I really like how the nice bright colors pop on the burlap.

Die cutting wool felt is one of my favorite thing these days. The felt has a nice body and holds it shape but the best thing about it is NO FRAYING! It’s also fun to add decorative stitches.

Finally, I arranged the flowers on top of the cake and adhered them with glue.

Ta-da! Turn off the lights and light the candles…

Quick Bag Re-do

27 Aug

Just a quick post. Here’s a project that took 15 minutes- at most!

I found this cute bag for about $1 either at Target or Dollar Tree (it was a while ago!) I love having these bags on hand for taking a bunch of mail and packages to the post office, bringing needlework to my quilt meetings, or gathering stuff to bring to my daughter’s (she always welcomes a few boxes of her favorite cereal).

What a surprise- I happened to have fun foam in exactly the same colors of the bag!

Here’s how: die cut three of them from Sizzix Butterfly die in yellow, orange and pink.

Arrange the solid butterflies down the bag, and add a little double stick tape on the outer part of each wing to hold them down. Then stitch them onto the bag and rub off the adhesive. That’s it!

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Create and Connect Roundup

22 Aug

I am so happy to be home! The past month has been spent on the road- first with a trip to Las Vegas for the Create and Connect trade show (aka CHA- Craft and Hobby show). It was lots of fun to see my designer buddies and some new friends that I feel like I know but had never met in person.

While I was in Vegas, I was very excited to launch a new line of dies with Sizzix called Cherished. The display was over the top amazing and I loved it.

For more pics, visit the Sizzix blog. Amy of Plucking Daisies was such a blessing- she came and helped me throughout the show with demos, classes and workshops. Read about her CHA experience here.

I flew home on the red eye after the show and left the next day for a family reunion in Vermont. It was beautiful there and spending the time with my siblings and their kids and grandkids was really a treasure and something that we will all remember for a long time.

After our week in Vermont, our kids that live out of state were able to come back to VA with us and visit for another couple of weeks so I finally I feel caught up on everyone’s life! Also managed to squeeze in a trip to the Jersey shore for a weekend with my husband’s side of the family, two birthday celebrations and a trip to WV.

Can I tell you I am exhausted :-)? This week it was hard to get back to work. I still want to be in that hammock! But I’m pepping up slowly but surely… Do you ever feel like that after vacation?